I went last night(this morning) from 1 until 5.  I caught 12, mostly on points.  None were tiny.  Biggest was a 18 inch Largemouth(pictured).   I saw something interesting.  There's a dock that usually has a Bass or 2 hanging around.  There were 3 or 4 green lights under the water.  There was a BUNCH of small fish 2 inches long or so swimming in a circle, in a tight group above the lights just under the surface.  There were enough, and swimming fast enough they were forming a vortex.   Every now and then a fairly big Flathead would come up and grab one....or maybe a mouth full.   I caught a 15 pound Flathead at this dock, at night a few weeks ago, but these lights weren't on then.   I've seen baitfish swimming in pretty much every way possible, but I've never seen them swimming that fast, in a circle that tight.   I don't know what species the small fish were.  I think I could have netted some.   There were some Bluegill around that dock....bigger than the 2 inch long circle swimmers.   

Ok, maybe I’m channeling Will Smith, but I’m starting to get jiggy with it. My two previous trips yielded three bass each day on a jig. Which is about double the amount of bass I’ve caught on a jig in my lifetime. So today was an eye-opener as I caught six bass on a jig. All on a 1/4 oz. black/blue Dirty Jig Finesse swim jig. One with a Rage Craw trailer (the first one, which ripped both claws off) and the other five with a Rage Bug trailer. Five hit the jig right after the cast or as I started to move it, but the last bass hit it right off the boat as I was reeling it in. 
 

I normally use my Falcon Lowrider MHF but had to use my Kistler Helium TCJ MHF as I need to reinstall the tip top on the Falcon. I really like the Helium for Texas rigs but may have to keep using it for jigs. It’s a great rod for jigs.

 

Caught three more on a watermelon red Zoom Trick weightless TR and one on a black Zoom Trick Magnum TR for a total of ten. Missed three more on the jig as well so they were really diggin’ the jiggin’. 
 

The highlight may have been the fact that while reeling in the jig on the left side of the boat, I heard something and looked to my right to see a bass turn and head for the bottom. It’s the biggest bass I’ve ever seen there. It looked to be 7-8 lbs. May have to try some big swim baits next time. 
 

42 minutes ago, BrianMDTX said:

Ok, maybe I’m channeling Will Smith, but I’m starting to get jiggy with it.

 

 

 

(sorry, Brian -- couldn't resist)

LMAO! 

 

Was at work doing a foot patrol and got a nice one on a roboworm. Been having a blast with finesse and light gear, put up a great fight!

Well fishing has been top water tastic and I'm very okay with that.   🥹🥹🥹🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

 

 

I shrink wrapped the hook and bent the hooks out and sent Jake down the bank with this little Lunker Hunt spider we haven't caught anything on that fills with water.  It floats now.  AND it catches bass.  😎😎😎

 

 

Couple on the shad color scum frog but nothing big.  Missed a lot of takers.

 

 

First cast on the boat and I stick a real nice one.  First cast fish curse?  Jeeze I sure hope not.  Weather looks really good.

 

 

Wind picks up, sun starts to peak through for an hour or two.  We hit little shadey toad holes in overhanging thickets and timber along the bank.  I didn't even see this one bite.  Just heard that sicky toilet flushing sound and saw my line jump and set the hook instantly.  5 lber.

 

 

Storm rolled in before the lake closed and I got my June buzzbait bass on the way in!

 

What a great start to the summer on the week of the new moon!

Explored a different section of river on foot. Kind of a low percentage thing without wading or floating because from my experience there are long stretches of dead water on the river. I was fishing a nice drop off on the end of a sandbar and had 5 fish between 8-12” following my bait. They were being pretty aggressive and swiping at it but had no hope of fitting it in their mouths. Just as my bait approached the drop this 19” fish rocketed up from underneath and ate headfirst.

 

It's mixed bag Monday!!!

I got started around 02:00. Night bite was steady. Mixed bag of LM, SM, and two eyes. The 4.8# eye pictured and a 2# will be dinner tomorrow night. Switched to muskie about 06:00 and had five follows and caught the 30" pictured. Of course I caught the smallest fish that I moved. Lol. Last follow was around 08:15. Fished till 11:30 and never saw another fish. Not a bad way to spend the morning.

 Sure would be nice if those skis would start eating though. I'm getting lots of aggressive follows, but it's been a struggle to close the deal.

@T-Billy floater season I see.  😂

On 6/7/2024 at 8:36 PM, Team9nine said:

Just a Menderchuck reject

 

Hahaha.  That's a good one.

 

Pretty much every smallmouth out there would fit this description is that's the standard...

I’ve been fishing some different ponds lately. One I fished last week had quantity but not much in quality. It is loaded with muskweed which makes it difficult to fish. And while it was bad last week, today was outrageous. 
 

I started with an H2OX popper and caught one bass, but it wasn’t worth fishing as I was hauling in pounds of grass. The same with a Texas rig, even with a 1/16 oz. bullet weight. And the wacky rig that did well last week was a nightmare as well. So I started working a jig. My jig fishing has really gotten better lately and today I caught three on a blue/black Finesse Dirty Jig with a Rage Bug trailer. I had a fourth, but it took me into submerged wood and broke off. Man, I was not happy to lose that jig! 
 

I eventually caught two bass on a weightless Senko TR and another on a Nichols Mango Jig in JT’s The Best Color Ever (long name for a blue/black jig) and a green pumpkin Rage Craw trailer. All the bass were 1.0 to 1.5 lbs. 

 

As I headed out, I passed a small bridge (looks like a dock) that is part of a nature walking trail. I can skip lures with a baitcaster as well as Garo Yepremian can field fumbles (Google that for a laugh), but figured what the heck. My first cast was horrific. My next cast went about 4’ under the dock and it got hammered. I set the hook (I think the bass did that itself) and hauled in a nice 4 lb. bass. That was it for the day. 
 

That may be it for that pond. It’s nice, but that grass is unreal. However, I am definitely a convert to fishing with jigs. I’m sure the Bait Monkey is happy to hear that! 
 

Went up to Texoma since it's open and stuff. I had a good day. I wound up on Denison Dam chasing boiling schools of tiny striped bass. Managed a decent smallmouth which was the big fish of the day. But I landed 41 striped bass before I ran out of water and the schools got further off the bank. That's the most fish I've caught in one day just not the species I prefer. Either way it just felt good to get bit non stop 

@BrianMDTX, you're getting pretty good with that jig!

 

40+ fish from the bank? Nice job @thediscochef!

 

58 minutes ago, Fishlegs said:

@BrianMDTX, you're getting pretty good with that jig!

 

40+ fish from the bank? Nice job @thediscochef!

 

Across about six or seven hours. But yes it was a day for the books, numbers-wise. I can already feel the chiggers digging in

Awesome news on the great fishing, @thediscochef! Bad news on the chiggers. I hate those things. They can rot in hell.

Just now, LrgmouthShad said:

Awesome news on the great fishing, @thediscochef! Bad news on the chiggers. I hate those things. They can rot in hell.

They've been murdering my ankles all year and they continue to do so

1 minute ago, thediscochef said:

They've been murdering my ankles all year and they continue to do so

Need to get you back out on the yak 🛶

9 minutes ago, LrgmouthShad said:

Need to get you back out on the yak 🛶

I'm already excited for that

@Fishlegs I don’t know why, but yeah, my jig action has really picked up. Ok, I think I know why. I’ve recently started using 1/4 oz. swim jigs and that seems to  have made a difference. I fish shallow water so the sink rate is probably a better fit, and it doesn’t get stuck in the muck and algae as much. 
 

Or…it’s something else. At this point I don’t care! 😂

I'm outta likes for the day but that's beautiful fish @thediscochef

 

Super happy to see such AWESOME success happening so fast for you on the jig @BrianMDTX and for that matter @Dan N! When they smash it out of site under something sneaky you generally know you're about to get your arm yanked off!!!

 

Brian - I believe that 4 lber would be a 5 all day a few weeks back and has a big mouth on it!  Absolutely killer stuff. 

A couple more from another stretch of river. First fish was loosely associated with a tree and grass.

 
The other fish I caught was on an extensive flat with scattered rock. Slammed the bait on the end of a long cast.

 

Third fish came at the end of the flat loosely associated with a log jam. Thickest fish I’ve seen so far on this river - almost 3lbs at only 15”.

I ended up missing 4 out of 7 bites which was a bit frustrating. Overall I really liked this section of river - very wide with good depth and variety. 

@Fried Lemons, sounds like my kind of place. 
 

what time should I meet you there ? 😂 

16 hours ago, LrgmouthShad said:

Awesome news on the great fishing, @thediscochef! Bad news on the chiggers. I hate those things. They can rot in hell.

Yep... them, skeeters, ticks, biting flies, and those pesky Deer Flies that make you wish you would have remembered your hat. They can all go rot!

 

From a nightfishing trip a couple days ago. Nightfishing has always been my favorite time to go out and get em, especially on these heavily pressure California ponds. The fish just turn on at night and its a blast. Caught about 5 of this size, a few a bit chunkier in the midsection. They wouldnt eat anything else besides a weightless super fluke. Sometimes they nailed it on the fall after a cast, other times they nailed it as I twitched it towards a weedline. The fluke bite is one of the best there is, up there with a jig, good times

 Went back to the same rocky flat I was finding fish on last time and the conditions were just right. Overcast with wind blowing from the north. I started throwing the soft glide but felt that I should be fishing something fast and aggressive. Tied on a squeaky black buzzbait and within four casts a massive blowup. She jumped fully out of the water twice and shook free of the main hook but got stung by the trailer hook in the process. Thought I had the four I was after but she was just short.

Caught a few small ones after and then the wind and topwater bite died. Dumped another nice one on the soft glide working a tree then called it a day as the recreational boaters were coming out.